Weightless
by jaymeemj
Summary: Scorpius, Albus and Sage were the best of friends. But what happens when something big occurs? (collab with flyingvespas, jaymeemj & Madeline)
1. Characters

**Scorpius Malfoy** _(Sheekah's character)_

**Name:** Scorpius Malfoy

**Gender:** Male

**House:** Ravenclaw

**Blood Status:** Quarter-Veela

**Student Position: **Prefect

**Wand:** 13 1/4 inch, Pear wood, Veela hair (given by grandmother), brittle

**Boggart:** Draco Malfoy being disappointed in him

**Patronus:** Swan

**Birthplace/Residency: **Wiltshire, England

**Pet(s):** A snowy owl, Boyd

- **Eyes:** Silver Grey with hints of Blue  
- **Hair:** Platinum Blonde

**About Scorpius:**

Scorpius lives in Malfoy Manor with his father Draco Malfoy as his mother, half-veela Sophie Gauthier, died when he was 3. He has a half-sister who is four years younger than him, Cassiopeia Malfoy, who also attends Hogwarts but is in Slytherin. Although they are only half-siblings, they are quite close. He is also very close to his father and often tries his best to make him proud.

Scorpius is very kind and generous, but can be quite temperamental. He is also very polite and formal due to his Malfoy upbringing. He is very intelligent and perceptive. He is strategic and can be quite cunning when he wants to be. He is also quite prudish. Although he is rich, he never boasts about his fortunes.

He is very popular in Hogwarts due to his good looks. Nobody really knows what he's really like as he is shy and hides behind his Malfoy mask, which makes him more attractive as he seems "mysterious". Most of the students either adore or respect him even though he only opens up to his best friends, Albus Potter and Sage Haworth, and his younger sister. He's the keeper for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team and is a graceful flyer. His grades are only second to Rose Weasley. He is particularly interested in Arithmancy, Potions and Herbology.

* * *

**Sage Haworth** _(Jaymee's character)_

**Name:** Sage Haworth

**Gender:** Female

**House:** Hufflepuff

**Blood Status:** Half-blood

**Student Position: **-

**Wand:** 12 1/2 inch, Aspen wood, Dragon core, solid

**Boggart:** Her Ravenclaw Ancestors trashing her

**Patronus:** Siberian Husky

**Birthplace/Residency: **Winchester, Hampshire

**Pet(s):** A Mouse, Nesquick

- **Eyes:** Greenish-Gray  
- **Hair:** Henna Red

**About Sage**

Sage's mother is a Pureblood while her father is a Muggle. Sage came down from a line of Ravenclaws, greatly admired for their intelligence and wit, and so to find out that Sage had been sorted into Hufflepuff at her first year, she had soon lost her mother's respect, and that of her maternal relatives'.

Sage is the only child, and perhaps the only real love she ever gets is from her father, who works as a college lecturer. However, he is rarely at home and so before Hogwarts, Sage had always been together under one roof with her austere mother.

They are rather well to do, or perhaps even considered wealthy from a Muggle's perspective.

After years of being demeaned by her Pureblood relatives for being 1) a half-blood and 2) a Hufflepuff instead of Ravenclaw, Sage had grown to become a more independent and cynical girl. She may be deceived as timid and shy, but at first approach, she can be rather bitter.

Her friends are the only ones who can get to her good, gentle, side. Despite the unfriendly façade, Sage is quite caring and sensitive.

For a Hufflepuff, she is quite intelligent - this is because of her need to be accepted by her mother and relatives. She is especially interested in Ancient Runes and Defence Against the Dark Arts. She takes Ancient Studies as a minor.

* * *

**Albus Potter** _(Madeline's character)_

**Name:** Albus Potter

**Gender:** Male

**House:** Slytherin

**Blood Status:** Half-blood

**Student Position: **Prefect

**Wand:** 11 inch, Rowan wood, Unicorn hair, Medium springy

**Boggart:** Bullies

**Patronus:** Pony

**Birthplace/Residency: **London, England

**Pet(s):** A Ferret, Ferret (Not very creative with names)

- **Eyes:** Green  
- **Hair:** Brunette

**About Albus**

Albus lives with his family in London. He has two siblings in Hogwarts, James (7th Year, Gryffindor) and Lily (4th Year, Gryffindor)

Albus respects his father, Harry Potter, a lot and is humorous like his Uncle George. He is friendly, kind, helpful and quite ambitious. He is also loyal, clear-minded, brave and curious. He loves warm colours and likes anything pumpkin. He even scolded a house elf once when it said the pumpkin juice was finished.

He often runs his hand through his hair when he's anxious in order to calm down and bites quills when he's stressed. He also hums excessively. He dislikes being told that he couldn't do a specific thing. He gets embarrassed by PDAs and gets annoyed when someone is keeping something from him.

Although he was shocked at first, he liked being in Slytherin. He helps Professor Longbottom in the greenhouses and is excellent at Astronomy. His favourite subject is Defence against the Dark Arts.


	2. Scorpius I

SCORPIUS

I woke immediately and couldn't help but grin. It's finally 1st September 2021. I've got a feeling this would be THE year. I let out a big "WHOOP!" before heading down for breakfast. Twinky was cooking something special for us before Father sends us to King's Cross. I can't wait to see Albus and Sage and tell them about the plans I had to make sure the school year starts off with a bang.

"Looks like someone is happy," Cassie smirked. I ruffled her blonde hair affectionately, earning myself a murderous glare. Honestly, that 12 year old is starting to scare me.

After making sure that my hair and my outfit look immaculate, I got out of the car and walked calmly towards Platform 9 3/4. My face was devoid of emotion as I passed through the barrier. I immediately started walking towards my usual compartment in the Hogwarts Express, earning a few glances from girls AND guys. Honestly, I couldn't care less.

I waited for a few minutes before Sage finally appeared. I immediately leaped and pulled her into a hug. I knew that she was rolling her eyes and probably wanted to hex me.

"I like it better when you're in your Malfoy mode, all unfriendly and definitely not crushing me to death," Sage grumbled. I casted a mild Stinging Hex on her, making her even more annoyed. Before long, we were throwing curses at each other and duelling. I ducked her curses effortlessly and smirked. She obviously didn't practice at home over the summer holidays then.

"Woah guys, what's happening? Don't tell me you guys are fighting again," Albus appeared all of a sudden, grinning at us. I immediately stopped trying to hex her. Sage however managed to cast a Tripping Jinx, making me sprawl unglamorously on the floor. She stuck her tongue out at me and I couldn't help but laugh at her ridiculous facial expression. She immediately stopped and looked away.

"We were merely practicing," I drawled in a ridiculous accent, making Albus laugh. Even Sage smiled. I can't help but grin too. I missed them dearly over the holidays and owling wasn't enough. We immediately launched into a long conversation full of nonsensical topics such as leg hair and spello tape. We were finally back together again.

* * *

After a scrumptious dinner, I went to the Head office as there was a Prefects' meeting there. I was curious as Headmistress McGonagall never held meetings in her own office. I immediately noticed Rose Weasley walking towards the office with other Gryffindor prefects. I acknowledge her with a nod and smiled when she nodded back. She looked quite different from last year and I wasn't disapproving. Her hair was shining and cascading in pretty waves instead being frizzy and looking like a nest. I was totally distracted and didn't realised that I reached the office already. "Onyx," I whispered, making the tapestry infront of me move before revealing a door. I slipped inside the office and saw that there was only one seat left and it was right next to Rose. I quickly sat down before paying close attention to the Headmistress.

"Thank you Mr Malfoy for gracing us with your attendance," said Headmistress McGonagall, making me feel guilty and ashamed. "Anyway, as I was saying, a huge event will be coming up soon. I require all of your assistance. We have loads of preparations to do and I would not tolerate any of the Prefects not taking up the responsibility. Anyone who is found fooling around will immediately be stripped off of their position. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Headmistress," all the prefects murmured except for me. I was too excited and intrigued by this "event". I glanced and saw Albus looking lost in thought.

"I'll get straight to the point. 4 exceptional 6th-year students from each house will be chosen to represent Hogwarts in the prestigious Triwizard Tournament taking place this year at Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, located at France. One of them will be chosen as the Hogwarts Champion, representing our school and taking part in three dangerous tasks that will test his or her intelligence, magical power and strength. It may possibly even cause death," the Headmistress said gravely. Everyone was silent and hanging on to her every word. "I want every single one of you to promise that you will NOT tell any other student about this matter. I myself will announce it when the time is ripe. In the meantime, each of you will have to keep mum about it and may train if you wish to participate in the tournament. I advise that you thoroughly think it through and if you are chosen, you have no choice but to follow us to the Academy."

As soon as the briefing was done, all the prefects was buzzing with excitement. Some looked determined while others look indifferent. I however was very jittery. This was my chance to show Father that I have what it takes to bring pride to the family. I saw Albus and scuttled after him. He appeared to be very disturbed by the news.

"Albus, Albus Potter. Hello Albus, earth to Albus. Albus Albus Albus," I tried to capture his attention but he looked dazed. I tapped him lightly on the shoulder and he immediately took out his wand. He relaxed when he realised it was just me.

"Sorry.. I was just distracted by the news. I mean come on, IT'S THE TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT!" he yelled before realising what he had done. His face turned crimson and I can't help but laugh at him.

"Calm down, Albus Severus Potter, and thanks for announcing it to the whole school when we were explicitly told not to tell anyone," I smirked, knowing that he would feel thoroughly embarrassed even though no one noticed his outburst. "Come on, we have to meet Sage later," I whispered, making sure that no one heard us.

"Fine, see you later at midnight," he whispered back and winked.


	3. Sage II

SAGE

The summer holidays had been a total wreck for me, and I was more than glad to be back at Hogwarts. Mum was constantly ignoring me at home, with just those usual brief nods and sighs of acknowledgement whenever I was present. Dad had been extra busy as well – having the time to come back home every Sunday for dinner only. The only ones to keep me company were Nesquick, and sometimes Scorpius' Boyd, whenever we exchanged owls. Other than that, I was basically entertaining myself with all my Ancient Runes books. Something that I thought Mum would be pleased about. It has been extra difficult to please her lately.

The last time I actually _thought_ Mum was proud of me was after receiving my O.W.L.s results. I mainly had Os and Es. And I daresay my results were much better than that of my Ravenclaw relatives when they took their O.W.L.s. But perhaps in Mum's eyes, being a Hufflepuff was much worse than getting nothing but Ts for all your major exams.

The Start of Term Feast was alright. I was my usual quiet self at the Hufflepuff table. There was the Sorting ceremony and I could vividly remember the time I was sorted into Hufflepuff. I remember the tears swelling up on my eyes but I was quick and subtle enough to rub them off by the time I joined the other Hufflepuffs. They were very warm and welcoming. It's been six years, and I feel more comfortable sitting at this table. But the insecurity and self-loathing has always remained deep in my chest.

I couldn't help but steal glances at the Ravenclaw table, where one of my best friends, the admired Scorpius Malfoy, was enjoying the dinner we had for the Feast. I turned to look at the Slytherins, where Albus and Cassie were. They looked pretty content. The atmosphere was nice – everyone was more than happy to be back at Hogwarts.

A small grin crept up to the tip of my lips at the thought of it. But one of the other students at our table caught me and smirked in a friendly manner, obviously amused. It didn't take long for my face to flicker back to its normal expression.

At the end of the Feast, when everyone was starting to get up and stream out of the Great Hall, I managed to catch Albus and Cassie just in time. "Hey!" I nudged him as we walked out of the Great Hall together. Scorpius was nowhere to be seen. "Any thoughts of sneaking out or something?"

Albus gave cocked his brow at me before glancing at Cassie, who was just standing a little behind him. Right, I thought to myself. We usually didn't talk about our plans of sneaking out whenever Cassie was around. "Can't right now, Sage," he said, shooting me an apologetic look afterwards. "The Headmistress wants to see all the Prefects at her office now."

I cringed a little. Albus and Scorpius were rather often preoccupied with their Prefect duties. Not that there was anything wrong with that. I just thought that we had lesser time with each other ever since they had been appointed as prefects. "Oh, I see – in that case, midnight, then?"

Albus' apologetic look was replaced with an excited smile. He didn't need to answer my question. "I'll tell Scorpius."

With that, we parted ways again. I was only able to wave a goodbye to Cassie when we turned towards the direction leading up to our respective common rooms.

* * *

After unpacking in my dorm, to which I shared with three other girls, I had decided to take a short nap. Unfortunately, this short nap lasted a few hours, and by the time I woke up, I realised I was a quarter past midnight already.

I rushed out of the Hufflepuff common room, racing past the kitchen corridors as I pulled out my wand from my robe and casted an Invisibility charm on myself. It was a good thing I pay close attention during Charms. I've always thought that Charms was the handiest next to Defence Against the Dark Arts.

I ran out of the castle, making sure that Filch was nowhere to be seen. The boys and I have gotten under his skin over the years I should say, despite them being prefects and all. The last thing I needed right now was for that prick to appear with Re-Visibility spectacles. I wouldn't want his deathly fingers wringing at my neck. Not that the school staff are allowed to do that, but still. You could never trust Filch.

Before I knew it, I was making my way down the familiar path in the Forbidden Forest. "_Lumos_," I breathed, and the tip of my wand beamed at me, lighting up at least a metre within my radius. It was highly dangerous, and not to mention, actually forbidden, to walk into the Forbidden Forest alone. But Scorpius, Albus, and I have practically gone to this place a million times to the point that we've grown accustomed to it.

As I neared the infamous Whomping Willow, I could vaguely make out my friends' silhouettes. Albus was seated comfortably against the immobile tree while Scorpius stood in front of him. It was a good thing we figured out which knot to press to immobilise the tree. The loud crunching of my shoes on the layer of dead leaves on the ground must have interrupted their conversation. My wand illuminated their faces and I cracked into a grin.

"Don't worry, it's me." I reversed the Invisibility charm and watched my friends' expressions change to that of recognition.

"Well, you took long enough," Albus said, getting up and dusting the rear of his robes.

"Come on," Scorpius beckoned, turning around on his heel to lead the way. "We've got some bit of news to tell you." He led us into the tunnel towards the Shrieking Shack, one of the places where we often hang around at.

The Shrieking Shack looked as derelict as I had last seen it. We settled inside, at our favourite spot, and made ourselves comfortable. It was weird how so much history had taken place in this very place, yet we found joy and comfort in settling down here to just ...well, relax.

I watched Scorpius and Albus exchange glances, their eyes filled with excitement before Scorpius turned to face me. "This piece of information is only meant for Prefects but since you are so ever blessed with our presence and support..." I rolled my eyes at him. "We want you to know that..." Scorpius cocked his head at Albus for him to continue his sentence.

"That there's going to be the fourth Triwizard Tournament." Albus' brows jumped as he said this, and for a moment, there was utter silence. Only the soft howling of the wind against the fragile wooden walls outside could be heard, as well as some sounds of creaking somewhere within the shack.

"Are you serious?" I wasn't one to jump up and go all crazy when this sort of news is thrown at me. It usually takes me a few seconds to gather them all in me before I show any form of emotion. "I should've thought so! No wonder you guys were gathered into the Headmistress' office. This is a big event!"

"Yes, thank you for stating the obvious, Ms Haworth," Albus said, smirking.

I ignored Albus and threw my next question almost immediately. "So, when's it going to start?"

Scorpius shrugged his shoulders. "No idea – the Headmistress will be announcing it to the rest of the school 'when the time is ripe'," he mimicked the Headmistress. "In the meanwhile, are you guys interested in participating?"

There was another momentary silence. "Well, there had been many tragedies at the Tournament," Albus muttered. "But I wouldn't mind participating, really." It was his turn to shrug his shoulders nonchalantly. Typical _Ambitious Albus_.

"It is pretty daunting." I cleared my throat as I tucked in a few strands of my red hair behind my ear. "I wouldn't want to risk a limb or something – "

"But just imagine all that recognition and admiration you'd get once you return to school after the tournament!" Scorpius exclaimed. It was pretty weird of Scorpius to sound so excited about earning fame and what not from the tournament. But as I took a second to think about what he said, maybe he wasn't talking for himself. Perhaps he was hinting out something to me.

I opened my mouth to speak. "I-I suppose Mum would approve of my interest in the Tournament, right?" With that, Scorpius smiled. A _there-you-go-you-got-what-I-meant_ kind of smile.


	4. Albus III

ALBUS

"Geez, stop it, James!" I shoved him off me and we both guffawed loudly at the platform. Mom and Dad looked pretty worried for us three, as usual, patting Lily on the shoulder and reminding her to sleep well and eat properly. Then, Dad was upon me and James.

"Don't get into trouble, alright?" He awkwardly did a one-armed hug around James, and I flitted away before he could get to me. I didn't want an awkward-one-armed-dad-hug.

"Sure, Dad!" I said, waving my hands up in front of my chest in defence. I'm not a kid anymore, but to my parents I would always be their little child. Then, Mom came over and fussed over mine and James' crumpled robes, telling me James to study harder, and telling me I had better not drop my ferret down the stairs again

It was sort of an accident… Ferret jumped out of my hand and went tumbling down into the dungeons. Took me a few days to find him again, that sly little thing, and it was sleeping peacefully with a dead half-eaten mouse beside him! Lucky, Ferret was white in colour, if not I don't think I would have spotted him in the dark. It was in a cage now, and was squirming in it, clucking happily around. Also, he likes to pee in my bed every time I changed the sheets, much to my exasperation.

Before I noticed, Mom and Dad were staring wistfully at the three of us, misty-eyed.

"Our kids are growing up so fast, I just…" Mom murmured to Dad, using her hand to cover her mouth. "It was like yesterday when they stepped onto the platform. Come here you…" And she ambled towards us, arms outstretched. Dad joined her too. I suppose I could join in this family group hug, I mean, I felt pretty sentimental too. The years past really quickly if you don't notice them go by. When I pay attention, Mom and Dad look older, have more wrinkles, have silver hair growing already, and often complain of backache and other old people problems. James and I were already taller than both of them and I expect Lily to catch up. Then, I spotted Sage and Scorpy (never, never, ever, use that nickname in front of him) on the platform, and shouted my goodbyes, heading off to their sides.

* * *

The Triwizard Tournament was a pleasant surprise to the start of this school year. James was going to be so jealous. Needless to say, I was utterly delighted to know of it well before the rest of the student population, and it was obvious that I was going to attempt to be one of the chosen sixteen no matter what! I know Dad had joined the Tournament before, but he doesn't talk about it much. Heck, I wouldn't want him to tell me anyway because I know it was really bad and included Voldemort.

But then again, Mom and Dad would be extremely concerned if I got in. The Tournament wasn't some game anyone could play.

I was at the Whomping Willow first, followed by Scorpius who paced around excitedly (agitatedly if you didn't know him), then, finally, after years of waiting, Sage appeared. The angels cried out in joyous yuletide as the oceans parted for Sage to loudly crunch her way to us.

Seated in The Shrieking Shack with Sage and Scorpy, Sage told us she would try to get in, for her mother and for her own pride. I wonder if Scorpy would want to. They hadn't realised but I was holding a flask of pumpkin juice I procured from the Start-of-the-Term feast.

"What would you say if the three of us got in together?" I asked, picking at the top of my right sock. Both of their eyes widened dramatically and I wondered if their eyeballs would plop out onto the dusty, blackened floor.

"That would be great!" Sage exclaimed.

"Wow, that would be a coincidence," Scorpius remarked, glancing rapidly back and forth from me to Sage and back again. I nodded. If there was such a chance though, but who would be participating as the champion?

There was a moment of pause as we took a moment to recollect ourselves.

Then, "Al… Is that pumpkin juice…?" Sage squinted accusingly at me. I made a dramatic show of trying to hide the guilty flask of juice, and we had a good laugh over my strange obsession with pumpkin. I could get on TLC if I tried really hard. "Albus drinks one bottle of pumpkin juice almost every day… That makes almost 365 bottles a year…" The silly shows Muggles think of.

Soon, we moved on from the topic, and had a teenage existential crisis about our lives and what we were going to do in the future. Ugh, the future. We went back to our dorms before sunlight came.

* * *

Apparently, "the time was ripe" the very next evening during dinner. I was sitting along with Cassie, Mitch, and Kara, when the Headmistress clinked her glass with her fork.

"This year, the Triwizard Tournament will take place," she said with a heavy pause, observing the students. "Not at Hogwarts, but at the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, located in France. Sixteen exceptional 6th-year students, and only from the 6th year," she said pausing again as the hall rose in protest. Her lips pursed unhappily.

"Only 6th-years!" A 7th-year spat.

"Calling bullshit, that is!" Another 7th-year yelled, along with many other juniors.

"Silence!" Prof. McGonagall's voice echoed across the Hall causing everyone to clamp their mouths shut. "Sixteen exceptional 6th-year students from each house will be chosen to represent Hogwarts in the prestigious Triwizard Tournament. One of them will be chosen as the Hogwarts Champion, representing our school and taking part in three dangerous tasks that will test his or her intelligence, magical power and strength. Whoever wins the Tournament shall be awarded with… eternal glory! But do take note; the Tournament will not spare anyone with a weak-heart. Death has happened, and I do not wish for history to repeat itself. Never again." Her voice shook as she said that, and she sat back down onto her chair.

I suppose as this was only an announcement, there was no need to explain it very well. A few younger students were looking confusedly at each other, and they knew they couldn't join the Tournament anyway, but were excited at the prospect of having seniors who will be there.

Boy, can I hardly wait for it all to begin.


	5. Scorpius IV

SCORPIUS

"Let's take a break," Albus panted, making me smile weakly. We've been training for the Tournament for the past few days like most of the 6th years of the school. Everyone wanted to take part and become the Champion for Hogwarts to get the so called "eternal glory". I only wanted to make Father proud of me.

"Yeah, I'm knackered," Sage sighed before plopping into the sofa. The Shrieking Shack looked totally different from when we first came here. After transfiguring everything to make it look nicer, it looks more like a home than a dilapidated manor.

All of a sudden, the ring on my thumb started to tighten. The gem on it, with the new Malfoy crest carved on it, was glowing. I started to panic. Cassie has a charm bracelet with a similar gem attached to it. The gem only glows when one of us activates it, indicating that we're in trouble.

"Albus, where's your map? I need to find my sister," I said urgently, causing both him and Sage to look at me worriedly. I started to pace around the room, willing myself to calm down. Cassie is someone with great magical capabilities and will only activate her bracelet when she's desperate. He handed it to me, looking curious and worried. According to the map, she's with Lily near the lake and a bunch of Slytherins are surrounding her. Albus's eyes widened and signalled to Sage.

"Our sisters are in trouble," Albus said grimly, already moving to grab his cloak and wand. We immediately ran back to the castle without another word.

* * *

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Sage screamed at them before Albus and I could even react. Both Lily and Cassie were bound to the huge tree beside the lake. Waves of fury started to engulf me.

"We were teaching that stupid half creature and her half-blood companion what would happen if we ever see them hang out again," an unfamiliar black-haired girl drawled while checking out her nails. Half of the kids there looked bored. All of them were from Slytherin, judging by their green and silver ties. The three of us stared at her, making a few kids giggle. I was so pissed off that I couldn't even raise my wand. Sage's face was so red it made her look like a tomato, which would have made me laugh if the situation was any different. Albus looked deep in thought. I recognised that expression, making me slightly alarmed. Albus only looked like that when he was about to do something drastic.

All of a sudden he casted a Bat Bogey hex on that bitch, causing pandemonium. Everyone took out their wands and we found ourselves on the receiving ends of multiple hexes and curses. Thanks to our training, we managed to block and avoid every single one. Sage rolled neatly, while Albus jumped so high it was almost impossible, making me slightly impressed. I was starting to get pumped up. Relying solely on adrenaline, I started to cast a few hexes that I learnt from Father in case anything like this ever happens. Although all of them are not fatal, most of them have horrible effects that last for months. One of the vile Slytherin kids' head started to enlarge, most probably due to the Engorgio Skullus I casted. Sage was doing her signature hex that made everyone break out in horrible hives and temporarily blinded. Albus was just like his father, acting lightning quick and casting defensive spells here and there. We were duelling about twenty kids at once, making it challenging yet fun.

"Levicorpus!" one of them yelled, causing Sage to hang mid-air. I was distracted for a second and almost got hit by a jet of purple light. I immediately cursed the kid who tried to hex me, causing his arms and legs to elongate at such a rapid rate that his limbs were almost 20 feet long when I turned to rescue Sage. The blonde girl who cursed Sage paled, making her freckles stand out. I almost pitied her, seeing that her blue eyes were full of fear. However, she harmed my sister and best friend, making me harden my resolve to make her suffer.

"Vegrandis Vulnera," I whispered and made a complicted wand move, making her eyes widen. She started to shriek, sounding like a banshee. I smiled grimly, knowing that the effects of that curse was horrible. It caused the victim to have several invisible small open wounds all over her body that sting horribly. I immediately casted the Counter-hex for Levicorpus, causing Sage to suddenly drop to earth without any grace at all. She rolled her eyes and whispered a sarcastic thanks. After hexing a few others, I casted the counter-curse on that blonde girl, making her quieten down while tears were streaming down her cheeks freely.

Before long, the three of us had most of the kids there disarmed and most of them were nursing the horrible effects of the curses we used. Sage immediately ran to the tree and unbounded Cassie and Lily while Albus and I casted more hexes on those who were trying to run away.

"Brother!" Cassie shouted while running towards me. I immediately pulled her into a tight embrace. A surge of protectiveness and love was overwhelming me, make me want to punish those who dared to lay a finger on my dearest sister more severely. After letting go, Cassie immediately punched the black-haired bitch squarely on her nose, making a satisfying crunch noise. I couldn't help but grin. I could see Albus lecturing Lily in a distance, making me laugh. How typical of Albus, scolding Lily when it's not even her fault. Sage was making sure that none of the Slytherins were truly hurt, making her look abit like a ginger younger version of Madam Pomfrey. None of us noticed that the Headmistress was approaching us.

"I want to see all of you in my office. NOW," Headmistress McGonagall said in a dangerous tone, making all of us gulp.

* * *

"Explain," the Headmistress said simply, making us feeling guilty. We didn't realise that we could have caused real harm to the Slytherin kids. However, I didn't regret any of my actions seeing that they bullied my only sister. I just stared at her defiantly, making her raise her eyebrow slightly. Sage just looked down while Albus was running his hand through his hair, looking sheepish. Lily and Cassie were both silent, making the tension in the air almost tangible enough to touch. "Well? If none of you explain, Mr Malfoy, Miss Haworth and Mr Potter will immediately be banned from participating in the Triwizard Tournament," she said in that dangerous tone, making me look down. I didn't realise that our actions would affect our chances of going to Beauxbatons. All our hard work would have been for nothing. I willed myself not to cry.

"Headmistress McGonagall, it's not their fault. You see, Annie Zabini attacked me and Cassie. We were bound tightly to the tree as punishment for studying together. If anyone is to be blamed, it should definitely be Zabini and her friends. Our brothers and Sage were only trying to defend themselves and save us," Lily said in a rush. All of us nodded rapidly, trying to convince the Headmistress that it was indeed their fault and not ours. Tears were already rolling down Sage's cheeks, making my heart sink a little. I knew that she worked really hard so that she could compete and impress her useless relatives that only looked down on her because of her House. I knew that it meant a lot to her, to get this chance to prove to them that she wasn't just a disgraceful Hufflepuff. Albus couldn't stop running his hand through his hair, making it messier than it usually is. He looks crestfallen and almost tearful. He only wanted to impress his father, yet here he was losing the opportunity because of his stupid Housemates.

"I bear the sole blame. Afterall, Albus and Sage didn't use the horrible curses I did. I know that I am the one at fault, Headmistress. You shouldn't punish them too," I whispered. However the room was so silent that it almost sounded like a shout. I was so disappointed with myself for not being able to make Father proud. Instead, I got in trouble. Everyone in the room stared at me intently, making me instinctively hide behind my Malfoy mask. Only Cassie could see that I was truly upset. Sage only smiled sadly while Albus gave me that "what the hell are you thinking" look.

"Very well then, Mr Malfoy. I hereby-" the Headmistress was about to finish her statement when Sage bursts into tears.

"No! You cannot solely blame him, it's our fault too," she sobbed. Albus put a comforting arm around her and nodded, making Headmistress give him a weird look, which almost looks like... Fondness.

"Miss Haworth, would you let me continue?" she asked, making Sage stop sobbing. "Look, none of you are in trouble. I saw everything that happened. I knew that none of you caused any real harm to the Slytherin kids. Nevertheless, 50 points will still be deducted from Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin for fighting in the courtyard. However, your actions showed me that all of you have potential. Therefore, the three of you are chosen to be three of sixteen sixth-years going to Beauxbatons," she said with a slight smile. All of our mouths were hanging open and I saw Sage burst into tears again. It was totally unexpected. All of us thought that we would be punished severely. Instead, we all got what we really wanted, which was to be chosen as the Hogwarts representatives. I couldn't stop grinning and pulled Sage and Albus into a bear hug. Although my robes were getting soaked by Sage's tears, I didn't mind because I was chosen. We were chosen.

* * *

After a few emotional moments in the Head office, we headed down to the Great Hall for dinner. I was famished after everything that happened that day. The three of us were all having a great time talking about our plans in France when we saw the black-haired girl from the afternoon. All of us immediately raised our wands, ready to curse her if she did anything.

"Look, wait. I just wanted to apologise for our actions. We didn't mean to harm Malfoy and Potter," she said, with hints of the drawl she used previously. We rolled our eyes and knew that she just didn't want to get into severe trouble or get attacked by us.

"Of course we forgive you sweetie," Sage said sweetly with a toothy grin.

"We knew that it was a lapse of your judgement," Albus cooed, flashing his Potter smile that could melt any girl or boy.

"However, if you try that again I swear you will regret it," I spat, making her look alarmed. Sage and Albus' smiles immediately turned into glares that would intimidate Lord Voldemort if he was still alive. The girl immediately ran away, making us grin at each other before laughing loudly. We knew that they wouldn't that to perform that stunt again, even when we're not at Hogwarts.

We went to sit at the Hufflepuff table and were having a great time when Lily suddenly joined us. She reeked of floral perfume and smiling coyly, making her look weird as she was usually either straight-faced or sulky.

"Hi Scorpius, I just wanted to thank you for saving my life," she said while batting her eyelashes that were coated in mascara. I never knew that she used make up or perfume. She scooted closer to me, making Sage raise her eyebrow. Albus was too busy enjoying his pumpkin pie to notice what his sister was doing. I was starting to get uncomfortable and cleared my throat.

"Well, it wasn't just me. Besides, you weren't in any real danger," I smiled, making Lily sway a bit. I didn't know that I had that effect on her and to be honest her behaviour was starting to creep me out. I only saw her as a little sister. I tried to move away but she moved even closer, making me lose my appetite. "I shall go now, I have arithmancy to do," I said while making sure that I wasn't smiling. Lily immediately pouted and before I knew what was happening, she planted a kiss on my cheek. I turned to see if Albus saw and was horrified when I realised he was staring at us.


	6. Sage V

SAGE

A series of things had happened that day and my thoughts were still running faster than lightning. What with Lily and Cassie being rounded up by a bunch of stupid Slytherin kids, and getting us sent to the Headmistress' office, only to find out that we three were chosen to be a part of the 16 Hogwarts students to be sent to Beauxbatons for the Triwizard Tournament.

Good Merlin. This was it. Straight after dinner, I rushed back to the Hufflepuff Common Room to write a letter back home. I even used my favourite quill just to make everything feel special.

_Dear Mum and Dad,_

_ It is my greatest pleasure to inform you that I was just chosen together with Scorpius and Albus to be a part of the 16 students going to Beauxbatons for the Triwizard Tournament. I am really overwhelmed by it. _

_ What lead to this fortune was a bit odd though: we were caught in a huge misunderstanding with a few other Slytherins who were threatening Scorpius and Albus' sisters. This got us into a messy situation. It sounds very upsetting, yes, I know, but the good part was that the Headmistress saw what happened and was actually impressed with our performance in handling those Slytherins. And so that was basically how we got in._

_ I'm really looking forward to the event – it's going to be a memorable moment in my life. And hopefully, I'd be chosen to represent the school in competing tasks. Just to make all of you proud._

_ Write back soon._

_Yours, with love,_

_Sage_

I had to admit, it felt odd wishing that I'd be the one to be picked out of the 16 to represent the school. It sounded selfish of me. What about Albus and Scorpius? They wanted this too. But then again, they've got all the adoration they needed. They were the offspring of notable people. The offspring of the famous Harry Potter and the Malfoy family. And who was I? I was merely an accidental Hufflepuff who ruined the Ravenclaw trend in my family.

I needed this Triwizard Tournament. It would serve as the antidote to the hellhole I come from. And by hellhole, I basically mean my mother's side of the family.

I folded the parchment and carefully slipped it into an envelope before I got up and gathered my Ancient Runes books and wand. I made my way to the Owlery. After that, I had to go to the Slytherins' to tutor Cassie in Ancient Runes. And I was looking forward to that. What pleasure it was to bring joy to others with what you are most interested in.

As soon as I've attached my letter to one of the Owlery's barn owls, I held onto my books and trudged off to the Slytherin Common Room.

Cassie was constantly updating me with the password to the Slytherin Common Room. And they had the habit of re-using narcissistic passwords. That night it was '_Pure-Blood_' again. That was the password just two weeks ago. Honestly, if they weren't so intimidating, just about any Hogwarts student could get in after a series of tries. I never really had the guts to step in, only in certain occasions. But after what happened earlier today, those uneducated pricks would have the common sense not to mess with my friends and I anymore. And they won't be able to do anything about my presence in their territory.

They were shooting glances and even ugly scowls and glares at me when I stepped into the dungeon. Usually they'd spit an insult or two. But then again, they knew better than to do that. Were they actually _afraid_ of a Hufflepuff? That ought to be a first. I simply rolled my eyes subtly after turning my head away from them.

"Sage!" I heard Albus call me just when Cassie popped out of nowhere and grabbed me, leading me towards her dormitory. Albus followed suit as I returned my greeting with a casual wave of my hand.

Once we were inside, Cassie grabbed my Ancient Runes books and started opening them up on her bed. "I've done a bit of reading in the library, Sage – I think I want to move on to the next topic. Could we do that? _Please_!"

Cassie had expressed her interest in Ancient Runes to me not too long ago. I was very pleased at this. Cassie had been a sister to me ever since, and I obviously didn't mind teaching her what I loved most.

"Whoa, whoa, hold up there for a moment, Malfoy," Albus cut her off. "Do your reading or something, I just need to talk to Sage for a bit." Albus said, lifting his pumpkin juice (how surprising) at me before he took a sip from it. I shot him a perplexed look as Cassie puffed out a hesitant 'fine' at him. She rested her chin on her fist and I turned to Albus and walked up to him, cocking my head in curiosity.

"What is it?"

"It's Lily – "

"Oh Merlin, is she all right?" I cut him off with an irrelevant small gasp, my hand flying up to cover my mouth for a moment there.

Albus shook his head at me. "She's fine. I just, I just saw something during dinner today."

When he returned to sip on his pumpkin juice once again, taking an eternity for him to stop and get back to our conversation, I clicked my tongue in annoyance and grabbed the thing away from him, emptying its contents at the nearby plant. Cassie wouldn't mind.

Albus was particularly annoyed at this. But he knew how I was like anyway and so he shook it off. "Did you notice how she was like towards Scorpy today during dinner?"

"Oh, please, Albus," I started. By the tone of his voice, I had a hint of what he was about to say next, and so I continued, "Don't get your overly-protective brother mode on at me now."

"But she kissed him!" He exasperated. "And tell me how old she is again? I haven't heard from Scorpius yet, and witnessing what happened is obviously going to haunt me tonight."

I raised my brows at Albus. "Lily's just growing up. Maybe she's developing feelings for Scorpius – so what?"

"So what? _So what?_" Albus ran a hand through his hair. "Good Merlin, Sage, Scorpius is our _best_ friend. And as much as I love both of them, the thought of them together is very disturbing. Don't you think so too?"

I took a moment to think about it. Well, yeah, it did seem a little uncomfortable to think of Lily and Scorpius together. We all felt like family, so it did seem weird if anything romantic happened between any of us two.

"Hey, Albus, can I get Sage back – "

"Sorry, not yet, Cassie, we'll be done in a moment – "

– But then again, Albus didn't need to be a little too emotional about this.

"It's nothing, Albus!" I reassured him. "It's just a small crush, I'm sure Lily's going to get over it any time soon. Scorpius knows better than to let Lily go on after him." And secretly, I was praying Lily would stop this madness. I could trust Scorpius that he knows how Albus would react if anything between him and Lily happened. Scorpius knows how to watch out for these kinds of things..._right_?

* * *

The next morning, during breakfast, Scorpius, Albus, Cassie, Lily, James, Rose and I were miraculously able to sit together at one end of the long tables together. James had one of his friends sitting next to her, Lily sitting at her other end – Albus had rushed to sit next to her when we were settling down, so that she'd be sandwiched in-between her siblings – and opposite them were Scorpius, Cassie, me, and Rose. I had a suspicion that Albus was being the protective brother that morning. And I thought it was Scorpius who was usually being the protective brother.

Jeez, boys. I'll never know how it's like to have a sibling.

Everything seemed to be just perfectly fine as we devoured our breakfast. James seemed to be in a deep conversation with Rose, sitting opposite him, Albus cracking his lame jokes that got the rest of us laughing until something seemed to be snorted out of Scorpius' nose. Yep, everything was going just right. Albus seemed to have forgotten about last night and that was good.

Soon enough, a flock of owls flew in, flying over the tables and dropping letters at their recipients. Scorpius caught an envelope swiftly on his hand, James having to stand up and bend over the table a bit to catch one that was sent for him and his siblings all together. I had to wait a little longer for mine. Mine seemed to be attached to the last owl coming in. And that owl had a minor injury on its wing because it wasn't flying right.

I tore open mine and realised that there were two folded parchments inside. Each one from Mum and Dad respectively. I opened Dad's one first. He loved to write. And reading his long, captivating and well-written letter that almost got me teary eyed, I felt homesick for the moment there. Dad was the only one that really makes me long for home.

The others had finished reading their letters by then and I had not gotten to Mum's yet. By then, the Malfoys and Potters seemed to be animatedly chatting with their own siblings about the letters they had received from their parents. I finally unfolded Mum's letter and read with such excitement:

_ Noted_.

Noted? That was all she wrote. The only word with one lame full stop at the middle of the parchment? I frowned, cringing for a moment there just by looking at her perfect penmanship. I felt the muscles on my face stiffening every now and then. To stop myself from getting my emotions out of hand, I quickly crumpled the piece of parchment into a ball as I tried to calmly set it aside on the table, pushing my hair back behind my ear.

Scorpius and Albus noticed my sudden tension. "Are you all right, Sage?" Scorpius asked, looking over Cassie's head at me with a concerned look.

I nodded, letting out a cracked, "Y-yeah." Hm, I could've been a bit more convincing.

Before they could probe me with anymore questions, the Headmistress had stood up from where she sat, holding out a long piece of parchment as she cleared your throat. She seemed to be in a particularly good mood that morning. Her eyes twinkled as she took a good look over the students in the Great Hall.

"Good morning to everyone," she started, her lips curving into a smile. "I am very pleased to announce that, together with the advice of the other teachers here in Hogwarts, we have come to a final decision on who will be the 16 sixth years that will be going over to Beauxbatons for the Triwizard Tournament."

There was a low murmur among the students. A seventh year even had the guts to shout, "Not interested! Talk to the sixth-years yourself!"

But Headmistress McGonagall ignored him and continued to smile, as she unrolled her parchment and fixed her reading glasses on her nose. "These are the 16 sixth-years who will be going for the Triwizard Tournament at Beauxbatons..."

An anticipating silence followed behind her words as everyone's attention focused on her voice.

"From Gryffindor, we have Frank Peakes, Rose Weasley –"

"Yes!" Rose squealed, beaming around at us as the Headmistress continued on with the names.

"From Ravenclaw, we have Scorpius Malfoy, Edgar Ramley, Niobe Vance, and Imogen Stainwright!"

Another round of applause. Cassie nudged her brother when his name was called out and they smiled at each other.

"In Hufflepuff, we have Eric Atherton, Angelus Bainbridge, Magenta Amorin, and Sage Haworth!"

Everyone around me clapped once again, but I didn't. Mum's letter seemed to have such a negative impact on me. I managed a smile at those who smiled at me. James and Cassie turned to congratulate me at the same time and I simply forced a polite laugh.

"And finally, in Slytherin, we have Grant Murray, Albus Potter, Prisca Dolohov, and Kitty Crocker." The Headmistress rolled the parchment back and held it behind her as she smiled once more at the whole cohort.

"Once again, we'd like to congratulate all of you for making it to the 16. I'm sure all of you will be bringing glory to Hogwarts whether you will be picked as the school representative or not. To us, the whole lot of you are representatives of Hogwarts, and showing the others how our school does things, is enough for us. Take care of yourselves always, and if you ever get picked, make sure, safety comes first before victory. Don't let greed take over and risk your life."

With that, the Headmistress clapped her hands together and the school broke in a round of polite applause for the 16 chosen students. As soon as she sat down again, we got back to our business. Scorpius was grinning, his eyes focusing at space.

"I'll be forever thankful for those Slytherins for giving us this golden opportunity," Scorpius said, poking his fork onto his food, as he smirked down.


	7. Albus VI

**ALBUS**

The pumpkin pie was amazing. I might have to bring these back to my dorm so I can eat them as a late-night snack. This is pure pumpkin heaven.

Then, I very nearly snorted all of the pumpkin pie out through my nose. I'm glad I didn't, though I kind of coughed the contents of my mouth out back onto the plate violently, so bits of it landed on the opposite side of the table onto Scorpius' plate. It would have been really hilarious if I wasn't so bloody horrified at my sister.

"What?" I spluttered, probably looking as bug-eyed as I felt. Some girl who was sitting close by beside me stood up with her plate and walked away when she realised there was pumpkin spit all over the area. Whatever, lady, I've got issues to deal with right now. "Wha-at?" I said much slower, staring at Scorpius, then Lily, then back again, my eyes darting everywhere.

This was absolutely not ok.

"Albus!" Sage tittered at the mess. Scorpius slithered away. I got up and slammed my hands on the table.

"Lily!" I hissed before she ran off too. I clambered over the table to the other side with the grace of a drunken whale, earning a few glares and curses as I knocked over a dish of chicken and some bread pudding. "Oops, sorry."

"What?" Lily said, sassing me off, her face scrunching into a sneer.

"No, no, no." I shook my head. "Did you just kiss Scorpius? SCORPIUS?!" I yelled, earning the attention of the table opposite us.

"Geez, go away, Albus! I do what I want! I don't need you to tell me what to do! I'm not TEN anymore!" Lily yelled back. Then she strode out of the hall, stomping on her shoes.

Thanks to her I lost my appetite and wasn't able to eat more of that pie.

After breakfast it was Potions, with Scorpius as usual. I was actively trying to avoid him but it was really distracting and my Euphoria Elixir failed and bubbled over the table top and slopped onto the floor thickly. Professor Creedly came over and patted me on my shoulder and said, "Well, Potter, it does take a little more practice. Off to your next class now," then glided away, encouraging a few other students who couldn't brew the potion too. Her hat bobbled unstably on her head. I don't think she combed her hair that often.

Unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough to get out of class and Scorpius stopped me on my way out.

"Albus, yesterday I-, "He started.

I cut him off, narrowing my eyes.

"Look here, Scorpius, that was my sister. You can't just go around kissing my sister! Any other girl but my sister!" I spluttered. "At least let me know before you start eating her face!" Which was honestly a really huge exaggeration and if anybody was eating anyone's face, it was my sister all over him but I obviously can't tell him that.

"What?" Scorpius looked taken aback. "No, Lily-"

"Yeah? Sometimes I talk to you but sometimes I run off a cliff."

I shouldered past him, purposely knocking my books into his chest. Thankfully my next few classes weren't with him.

By dinner, my coldness towards Scorpius built by glaring at him in between classes and pointedly avoiding any contact when I had to directly walk pass him.

The last time we had an argument like this was back in third year, and we didn't speak for a month or so but still continued to sit at the same table because of Sage. I don't even remember what it was about, probably something petty, but Scorpius was the one who apologised first and it will be him who will apologise first too now. I hope.

This time, we were sitting at the same table, too, and Sage was chewing her food suspiciously, like "I know something's up with you two." Scorpius was looking down at his food and chasing the peas around the salmon with his fork. I was just avoiding any eye contact with anyone and was aggressively shovelling food into my mouth.

It was pretty awkward as Sage failed to break the tension, until Lily trotted over and sat down heavily next to Scorpius.

"Hey Scorpius," she breathed, smiling sweetly. On the outside I was calm, but on the inside I was screaming. At least the silence was broken.

"Hey Lily," Scorpius replied, then immediately got up and walked away with a poker face. Lily stared after him, sighing.

"He's so hard to get, you know," She said to Sage and I.

"No I don't," I said dryly, rolling my eyes. Out of all the kids in her grade and Scorpius is the choice? Where was the logic?

* * *

Professor McGonagall called the chosen people in for a meeting, two days after. It was about our transport to France, and of course, to collect our signed consent forms from our parents. Mom and Dad were pretty fine with me going over, but Dad kept telling me to take care of myself, and also of Sage… and also of Scorpius, but I'm still not speaking to him. If I do get chosen to be in the Tournament, however, I'm to write often to them, which is pretty fair deal. I'm sure I've got loads to tell them anyway.

"Settle down, students." Prof. McGonagall spoke, her eyes still sharp and surveying everyone in the room even though I'm pretty sure she's over 90. Her mind is still quick as a bullet.

"As you all should have known, our transport to the Beauxbatons Academy will be by carriage. Bring clothes that are not as heavy as you are wearing now, as the weather would not be as cold as it is at Hogwarts. For the details of whom you shall be travelling with in the same carriage, well, there will be four of you in one." She pulled a piece of parchment from a cloak and begin reading the names.

"Edgar Ramley, Niobe Vance, Eric Atherton, Angelus Bainbridge. Rose Weasley, Imogen Stainwright, Nadia Bane, and Mary Augustine. Magenta Amorin, and Sage Haworth, Prisca Dolohov, Kitty Crocker. Frank Peakes, Albus Potter, Grant Murrey, and Scorpius Malfoy. That will be all. Any questions? If not, you are all dismissed. Hurry to your classes and do NOT let me catch anyone of you loitering around the halls." The sound of chairs pushed back echoed around the mostly empty classroom.

I groan. A few hours it might be, but I've been ignoring Malfoy for a bit, and I guess I can't now, not when in a carriage with now where to go. Nonetheless, I was excited still excited for the trip.

We're all going on an adventure!


	8. Scorpius XII

**SCORPIUS**

"Hey, Scorpy," Lily whispered in my ear, making me shiver in a bad way. Her cloying perfume was overwhelming my sense of smell. Her hair was in this weird updo, making me want to giggle a little bit. Albus just glared at us, making me feel annoyed. Honestly, it's not my fault Lily has been acting weird.

"Hey Lils," I said with a straight face before excusing myself from the table. I headed towards the towers, wanting to continue packing my trunk for the tournament. Although I wasn't thrilled that I was bunking with Albus, I still couldn't wait to head to France. I heard footsteps behind me, making me feel slightly annoyed. Lily was starting to piss me off. I mean come on, can't she get the hint?

"Hey, Scorpy." I stopped in my tracks. It was Rose, not Lily. I immediately heaved a sigh of relief, making her giggle slightly.

"What's up, Rosey?" I grinned, although deep inside I was beating myself up. Honestly, what's up? What year is it, 2010 or something? She giggled again, making me blush.

"Are you done packing? I still have tons of things to get from Hogsmeade," she pouted, making her look extremely cute and me blushing a little bit more.

"Nah, heading to my dorm to continue. Hey, I need to get some stuff too, I'll go with y..uh..you then," I tried to make smoothly, but the effect was ruined by my stupid stutter. I saw Lily from the corner of my eye, making me cringe.

"Sure, see you tomorrow at about 12?" Rose asked, and I quickly nodded, before making some excuse and running away. Honestly, I'm behaving like a coward, running away from my so-called admirer but I couldn't stand Lily anymore. I quickly ran up the tower and hid in my dorm room for the rest of the day, thanking Merlin that Lily wasn't a Ravenclaw.

I spent hours trying to find an outfit, wanting to impress Rose. I don't even know if I fancied the pants off of her or I just saw her as a friend. Before I knew it, it was 1155. I cursed and quickly ran down to the gates, making me breathless by the time I reach Rose. She just rolled her eyes and grin, making me laugh. She looked lovely in a burgundy sweater and jeans with a black robe-like over coat and a matching pair of boots. I didn't see Lily anywhere and was ready to have a blast.

We spent what seemed like hours in Gladrags Wizardwear, trying to find suitable clothes to wear at Beauxbatons. We picked several outfits, with some of the items matching. We kept flirting and joking around, making me feel totally at ease. After spending a copious amount of galleons, we went to Three Broomsticks for a quick drink.

"Two butterbeers, please!" Rose called out and Madam Rosmerta quickly gave us our drinks. She grinned at Rose happily but glared at me, making me feel slightly uneasy. Rose saw how uncomfortable I was and we quickly gulped down our Butterbeers before heading out to the streets. We started walking back towards Hogwarts as we were both exhausted and wanted to catch some sleep. Feeling slightly brave, I almost reached out for her hand but something distracted me.

"Shut up, you prick!" I heard Sage shriek. I quickly turned around and saw her and Albus running around, chasing each other like they were still kids. They immediately stopped when they saw me. Sage looked down and fumbled with her thumbs while Albus looked at me defiantly. Rose was standing awkwardly in the middle of me and Albus, already sensing the tension and reaching out for her wand in case anything happened.

"Let's go, Sage," Albus said while glaring at me, making me feel hurt. At first, I was confused. Why didn't they invite me along with them? Then I realised it was all Lily's fault. Albus hated me for so-called seducing his sister. Afterall, Albus will always side with his darling sister. I felt horribly insignificant and immediately walked away with Rose scurrying behind me.

"Wait, Scorp!" Sage shouted but I ignored her and walked even faster. I knew that she would look for me later but I just wanted to escape for the time being. By the time I reached Hogwarts, Rose and I were panting slightly. I gave her a small smile before heading in, wanting to hide in my room forever.

* * *

I was drowning in self-pity and contemplated drinking my secret stash of Firewhiskey when I heard a tapping noise on the window. Turns out it was a school owl delivering a letter from sage.

_Scorp,_

_Meet at our usual place at midnight. Do NOT be late._

_S_

I wanted to ignore her but I knew she would hex my bollocks off if I did, so I grabbed my robes and headed down after curfew. After years of sneaking around the school, finding our favourite spot in the dark was a piece of cake. I could already see Sage waiting there, casually reading an old Muggle book. She didn't bother looking up untill she finished that chapter. I rolled my eyes and waited patiently, although I was feeling anxious. She finally looked up and gave me a piercing look, making me gulp slightly.

"Scorpius Malfoy, what you did today was cowardly. How could you just run away? And what were you doing with Rose anyway?" Sage demanded with a slightly jealous tone. I slowly backed away, not wanting to be near her when she's this angry. "Don't try running away, Scorpius, unless you want me to hex you," she said in that soft dangerous tone that never fails to send chills down my spine. I immediately froze and quickly racked my brains for some sort of excuse but all I can find are feelings of anger and betrayal. How could she treat me like this when she was the one who didn't even ask me out?

"Excuse me, Sage Haworth," I started, feeling brave and confident enough to retort. "You were the one who didn't invite me to go out with you and Albus. Am I supposed to be happy that my friends forgot about me? Am I supposed to have a party and start popping some champagne? And I was having a lovely date with Rose. At least she treats me like a proper FRIEND," I almost screamed, almost losing my composure. I didn't want to break down in front of Sage. I knew I was going too far but I wanted her to feel how I feel, unwanted and somewhat hated by my own supposedly best friends. Sage went silent for a moment, making me feel slightly guilty.

"Look, we're sorry. But you know how Albus is like, he always wants the best for his sister. And apparently you're not the best," she almost said in a whisper, making me feel like I just got slapped. "And since when were you and Rose dating? I thought friends were supposed to tell each other everything," she accused, making me feel even guiltier.

"We're not dating, but I kind of wish it was a date. Anyway, that's not the point. I'm still hurt because you guys didn't bother asking me out. I should go talk to Albus soon. Sorry Sage for exploding like that, you know you're my best mate and all," I said with a smile, although deep inside I was still deeply upset. Thank Merlin for Malfoys' ability to hide our feelings. Well, at least it works sometimes.

"Of course I'm your best mate," Sage shouted before engulfing me in a hug, in true Sage Haworth fashion. I couldn't help but truly grin, grateful that Sage is still here although Albus is kind of acting like a dick.

* * *

"Oh my fucking god, we're actually going to France!" Edgar shouted, making Headmistress McGonagall give him a quelling stare. I couldn't help but laugh. All of us were excited for the Triwizard Tournament. We went into our carriages, which were pulled by threstals. The carriages looked small but inside it was as big as a whole apartment. We were supposed to stay in here for the whole trip at Beauxbatons as we weren't allowed to bunk in with the students there. There was a huge sofa infront of a fireplace, which is weird because since when do carriages have fireplaces in it? Anyway, Albus was already sitting on it, partly sulking. As soon as we made eye contact, he sulked even further, making me roll my eyes. Honestly, sometimes Albus acts like a 12 year old girl.

"Look mate, I'm sorry about the whole Lily thing. I swear I didn't do anything. Come on, we've been waiting for this moment for so long together. Let's make up, yeah?" I grinned, hoping that he would forgive me like he always did.

"Yeah man, whatever," he tried to say nonchalantly but he started to grin, making me laugh. I leapt on him and we started wrestling just like the old times. I was glad to have him back.

"Stop acting like shirt-lifters," Frank sneered, making Albus and I glare at him. That annoying little Gryffindor was such a snooty little bastard.

"Oh yeah, where's Ferret?" Albus asked. We started looking around the whole carriage but couldn't find him at all. Suddenly, we heard a scream.

"GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!" Frank screamed while pointing at Ferret, making Albus and I laugh so hard we almost wet our pants. Turns out Frank is really afraid of rodents. I already thought of ways to use Ferret to torment Frank and winked at Albus, knowing that he too was planning some nasty shit for Frank.

We finally reached France after what seemed like hours. We quickly changed into our new Hogwarts robes which were much thinner and had our names embroided at the back, which was pretty tacky. As soon as the carriage landed, all of us except for Frank ran out of the carriage. Frank was still looking out for Ferret, which was safely locked in his cage. I saw Sage and immediately went up to her with Albus being right behind me. Rose was there too and waved shyly, making me blush even further. Sage looked at us oddly and walked away, making me feel slightly confused.

"Alright students, you do know what we're supposed to do for the Entrance Ceremony, right?" Headmistress McGonagall demanded and all of us nodded fervently. We've been practicing for days and everyone was excited to show off their spell-casting skills and melodious voices. "Good, now calmly walk inside and BEHAVE," she said with a smile, but we knew that if anything bad happened we would have to pay for it dearly. For the first time, we were lining up and walking up like civilised young adults. All of the Beauxbaton students were gawking at us. The Durmstrang students were getting lectured by their headmaster, who appeared to be very young yet old at the same time. How odd.

"Hey Scorpy," Rose whispered and smiled, making my insides melt. I instinctively grabbed her hand and both of us fell silent. We continued walking down the aisle leading to the hall there with our fingers intertwined and hearts beating loudly. I was fascinated by the Beauxbaton Palace, which was glittery and insanely clean. The walls were covered with portraits of very dignified witches and wizards and the ceilings were lined with crystal chandeliers. The shiny white marble floors matched the white roses which were abundant everywhere. Most of the students were chattering loudly in French, making me glad that I was fluent in it too.

We reached a huge white door which had intricate carvings and beautiful glass details on it. One of the students opened the door for us and bowed, making me bow awkwardly while the rest of the Hogwarts student just gape at her. She was oddly familiar.

As soon as we walked in the hall, everyone fell silent. All of a sudden, Prisca started singing the Hogwarts song, and all of us joined in. Most of the Beauxbaton and Durmstrang students just looked at us oddly but we continued to sing, full of pride for our school. It sounded pretty wonderful and everyone was giving their all in singing. All of a sudden, Sage sent bright yellow sparks up high, which formed the image of a badger. All of the Hufflepuffs joined in and soon the whole hall had bright yellow badgers everywhere. Next, Kitty sent up green sparks, which formed the image of a serpent. The rest of the Slytherins followed suit and green snakes were slithering towards the students, making some of the girls shriek. After a few seconds, I sent up bright blue sparks, forming the shape of a raven. The rest of my house mates casted the same spells, and soon blue ravens were flying everywhere. Finally, Rose sent red sparks up and formed a lion, and soon many red lions roamed around the hall. After all of the animals dissipated, all of us sent sparks of multiple colours up and those sparks formed the Hogwarts crest, making me feel proud to be a Hogwarts student. After our whole performance ended, all of the students from the two other schools applauded, making me grin. That familiar girl then waved at me, making me feel slightly confused.

We went our separate ways and sat with the students from Beauxbatons. Instead of having four long tables, they had small circular tables and sat in small groups. Rose sat beside me and Sage sat on the other side, while Albus sat with his other Slytherin friends. The Durmstrang students went up and stood in rows, making us all wait in anticipation. All of a sudden, we heard a loud bang and turns out one of them was playing hitting a really huge drum. They started doing gravity-defying stunts that left most of us gaping. It was as if they were weightless and everyone was performing such incredible acts. At the very end of their performance, they solemnly recited their school pledge. I couldn't help but give a standing ovation when they were done.

Wood nymphs began to serenade us as food appeared on our tables. Most of them were unfamiliar but we were too hungry to care. After a scrumptious meal, all of us headed back to the carriages but I saw that girl again. She waved at me and gestured at me to come over. Although I was wary of her, I guessed that she couldn't harm me in front of so many students. I walked sedately to her, making her smile in a creepy way.

"Scorpius Malfoy, je suis heureuse te voir!" she gushed, making me feel even more confused. How did she even know my name? Sensing my confusion, she appeared slightly hurt. "Did you forget me? I'm your cousin, Adrienne Gauthier," she pouted. I immediately remembered going to her house during the summers of my childhood.

"Hey, Addry!" I grinned, remembering the nickname I had for her. I pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheeks, which was usually the way I greeted my French relatives. Unfortunately, Rose saw me doing that. Before I knew what was happening, she ran off.


	9. Sage VIII

**SAGE**

After the Welcoming Ceremony, I headed down back to our carriages, with Rose walking next to me. Scorpius was ahead of us from a distance, while Albus was still behind with his Slytherin friends.  
We were just conversing about when the results of the chosen champions would most probably be announced when Rose was cut short. I glanced at her. "Um, Rose...?"  
Her eyes were wide against her deadpanned face which was drained from blood. I tilted my head to follow her gaze and saw Scorpius looking just the same back at her. And just when I noticed another girl next to him, I felt Rose bump against my shoulder as she fled away.  
"Rose! Wait!" Scorpius and I cried out simultaneously. But the ginger was too quick. I turned back to glower at Scorpius. Honestly, this Malfoy seems to be stirring up much trouble without meaning to. He was already a metre or so away from me with the other girl following suit.  
"Where'd she go?"  
And he still had the balls to ask such a question. "I don't know - sheesh, you tell me." I looked at the girl and raised a brow, starting to get a hint as to why Rose ran away.  
Scorpius ran a hand through his hair in frustration just as Albus had caught up with us. "Mini-gathering here, I see?" He asked in oblivion.  
Hurriedly, Scorpius introduced us to the girl. Adrienne Gauthier. She was pretty with long whitish blonde hair and cerulean blue eyes. She had the kind of fair flawless skin any girl would kill for, and of course, this did made me insecure of myself for the moment there. When I realised she was Scorpius' cousin, my mouth formed an 'O'. No wonder. Good looks run down their family.  
"Bon soir, comment tu t'appeles? - _ah_, excusez-moi," She coughed politely after realising that she was speaking to non-French speaking people. "Hello, what's your name?"  
"Albus," Albus introduced first, taking her hand for a shake, "Albus Potter."  
"The son of the Boy Who Lived!" Adrienne exclaimed in wonder as she started to throw words of admiration at Albus about his father.  
Meanwhile, I noticed how distracted Scorpius was. This pestered me in such a strange way. I almost found it very offensive to find him distracted when he was still around with Albus and I because this wasn't usually the case. Without a word, he fled away in the direction of where Rose had gone to.  
"And this is Sage," I heard Albus saying. My eyes snapped back to them, completely lost. "Sage Haworth."  
"Lovely to meet you!" Adrienne flashed a beauty pageant smile of hers at me as I awkwardly returned it with a floppy wave of a hand and a grin that barely reached my eyes.  
Then her eyes flashed with liveliness at us, almost as if she was about to challenge us as she beckoned, "Come, let me show you around! The tour of the school tomorrow wouldn't be as informative and useful."  
I glanced sidewards at Albus, hesitantly (and perhaps a little dubiously), almost as if I was trying to tell him to decline the offer.  
"It's just a one time chance," Adrienne persuaded. "A one time chance you wouldn't want to regret."  
Adrienne's hopeful eyes pierced into our very souls. I couldn't tell if it was just the effect of her eye colour, or if it was her aura in general. I exchanged looks with Albus once more. He shrugged, cocking his head towards Adrienne.  
"I'm in - how bad could it be right?"  
My mouth fell a little. "B-but Professor McGonagall - "  
"If we can sneak into the Forbidden Forest 24/7, how bad could this be?" Albus smirked.  
Adrienne interjected then. "Oui! If anything happens, it will be me who will be held responsible! Don't worry!"  
My face twisted into a half-grimace. It was just one of those days when I couldn't trust anybody.  
"Oh c'mon," Albus said, taking my elbow and tugging me along as Adrienne led us. "Stop over-thinking. This is going to be fun."  
I let him pull me until he paused a little to turn and ask, "By the way , where is Scorps? Wasn't he just with you?"  
But before I could answer him, Adrienne, once again, interjected, "Oh he ran away to look for that girl. The red-haired one...Rose, was it?"  
I felt like smacking the heel of my hand onto my forehead. Good grief, as pretty as this girl was, her big mouth seems to disgrace her divine looks. I plastered a spastic smile on my face as I nodded, assuring her that she got the name correctly.  
Albus' brows knitted into confusion though. He peered questioningly at me as if I knew something that he didn't.  
"Um," I awkwardly started, "Are we going or not?"

When Adrienne said she would give us a tour around the school, I had no idea that she had meant a tour around the secret passages and long-forgotten rooms hidden within the grand palace-like school. There were many stories, mainly tragic ones, which accompanied the tour. All of which I thought were utter bullshit. But nonetheless, I still nodded with a face of interest as she rattled on and on. I couldn't tell if Albus was sucked in into her gibberish.  
By the time it was 1am, Adrienne finally left us alone to head back to our carriages. Albus and I walked back, amusing ourselves with the feelings we had about the tour and just sharing a good laugh because we were exhausted. We had missed our bed time by 3 hours. And the Headmistress was very particular about our bed time. Mainly because we would need to stay energised throughout our stay at Beauxbatons. She would not tolerate any form of grogginess or fatigue before the Tournament because she thought that in the event that we were actually chosen, we wouldn't be physically fit to perform or perhaps, _survive it_: and that would put our lives in grave danger.  
"If the Headmistress finds out that we are still out here, we'll be dead meat!" I flustered at Albus, suddenly becoming serious, but he shushed me. We were hiding behind a pillar, peering from behind it where we could see the Hogwarts carriages.  
We turned back immediately to hide behind the pillar when we caught a glimpse of a few people walking about. "Alright, listen," Albus started, his voice soft yet tense, "If anything happens, the first thing the Headmistress would do is to get us escorts to send us back to Hogwarts."  
The thought of being sent back brought shivers down my spine. I would not be able to stand that sort of embarrassment just when we've been chosen to go here. "So here's what we're going to do," Albus continued, sounding somewhat like his father, "Do you know any spell or charm that can prevent us from being detected by those Stealth Sensory spells? I'll cast an Invisibility Charm for the both of us."  
I nodded. I was never really fond of people casting spells on me. Albus and Scorpius included. It simply felt like I was under someone else's protection or control and that made me feel weak and dependent.  
"Ready?" I asked as I detached myself from leaning against the pillar. Albus did the same and I readied myself as I pulled out my wand.  
"Ready for what?" A voice asked from the corner.  
Me and Albus' heads snapped to face the direction of where the voice had come from and I jumped a little when we saw Scorpius standing there, out in the open. "Scorpius?"  
We stepped out from behind the pillar, our faces still filled with incredulity and confusion as we had a mini-staring contest with him. "What are you doing here?" I asked.  
"I was looking for the both of you," he said. "Professor McGonagall asked me to look for you guys after you two missed the final headcount for the night. Where were you?"  
"We got lost," Albus lied smoothly. "Your cousin brought us around and we thought we could make it in time for the headcount until we lost our way. Where were you?" He threw the question back at Scorpius, almost as if he was accusing him of a crime.  
The three of us are usually together and because of that, it made things feel wrong whenever we went our separate ways. We waited for Scorpius' answer even though we two very well knew where he went.  
"I-I was with Rose," he stammered a little, still putting on his confidence pose with his signature straight face.  
"Why?" Albus asked once more.  
"I had to explain a few things to her."  
"What for_?_" Albus pressed on, genuinely eager to know more just because we were Scorpius' best friends. It gets to us whenever one of us seems to be hiding something. Knowing that he was going over the limit, I touched his forearm to stop him.  
"_Albus_," I said firmly.  
"It's ok, Sage," Scorpius told me. But his now cold eyes shifted back to Albus, almost as if he was restraining himself from glaring at him.  
Well, shit.  
"I had to talk to Rose, ok?" Scorpius explained. His fist was clenched for the moment there as he tried to recollect himself. "Apparently she thought that I was with another girl when I greeted my cousin. So I had to go after her and explain things out. Done!"  
"Not done!" Albus quickly said, ready to bombard him with more questions. "What does she care about you and your cousin? Please, enlighten me." He rolled his eyes a little. If I gave him a pumpkin juice would he calm the heck down? I already felt like withdrawing myself from the conversation and camouflaging myself on the walls of the nearby pillar.  
And then the worst thing happened. Scorpius shot me a perplexed frown. "You didn't tell him?" Good Merlin, get me out of here.  
"Tell me what?" Albus asked, feeling completely ignored because I returned the same frown to Scorpius.  
"I didn't know I had to tell him! I thought it was your secret or something that you would be ashamed of - "  
"Wait, what?" Albus cut me off. "Oh so now we're playing a game of let's-share-secrets-but-hide-it-from-Albus, are we?" He looked offended and upset. But mainly offended. And I felt bad for him.  
"Albus, no it's not like that, ok? Get a grip of yourself!" I hissed.  
But before we knew it, the three of us were throwing accusations at each other. We were like a bunch of snakes coiled into one because all I heard were angry whispers and hisses to keep our noise level down in case someone heard us.  
"Well it seems like it!"  
"We're not keeping secrets from anybody!" Scorpius assured. "If there's a secret that someone's hiding, it would be you two for going onto that wild Beauxbatons adventure without me!" Just when I thought he was being the peacemaker, he throws that sort of accusation at us.  
I shook my head fervently at him. "Scorpius, don't be silly - we only left because you left and your cousin was persistent about the tour!"  
"Yeah, I bet you were out sucking Rose's face!" Albus said. "First, my sister, then now, my cousin? Who next, Scorps? My mother?" Albus flailed his arms a little at Scorpius and good grief, this was just so immature.  
"I was not sucking anybody's face! We were just having a mature talk! And that's disgusting, Albus!" Scorpius scowled at his assumption. He almost looked like he had been sucking onto a lemon for the past few hours when he made that face.  
"You two are being absurd!" I finally shouted. "Can we just shut the hell up and clear this misunderstanding?"  
"Ms Haworth?"  
_Shit._  
I froze before I gathered the guts to slowly turn around with my apologetic face readied. "Yes, Professor McGonagall?" She stood at the corner, perfectly poised with her fingers running down her wand as she looked back at us with patient but firm eyes.  
"I'll have a word with you and Mr Potter after your little congregation there."  
I nodded. And by nod, I meant a small jerk of my chin downwards. I slowly turned to look back at Albus and Scorpius. Scorpius had the same straight face put on, only a little more tense, while Albus looked as exhausted as ever. His brows were furrowed downwards still.  
"Alright, guys," I carefully said. "This was just one big misunderstanding. None of us wanted to hide anything from one another or intentionally hurt anybody, ok? This was nothing but..." I paused to search for the proper word and finally found it.  
"-_Miscommunication_." The three of us muttered together. Geniuses.  
At this, the three of us finally broke into smiles, grinning goofily at one another. Scorpius pursed his lips as he nodded in approval. Albus shyly scratched the hair on his nape and I heaved a sigh of relief.  
"Come on, guys," I murmured as I pulled the both of them into a big hug. "You know how much I hate arguments. As if I don't have enough of that back at home - you guys are my source of happiness so stop being so grim and overly-sensitive about these small things, alright?" I sighed, tightening my grip around them.  
"Good Merlin, Sage, you smell like my uncle's foot," Scorpius said, pinching his nose when he pulled back from the hug. My lips parted at this. I could feel my face heating up already until Scorpius bumped my shoulder a little and guffawed, "I was joking!"  
Albus joined in the laughter with Scorpius as he turned to me and pinched my cheek. I slapped his hand away and glared at him."Miss Short-Temper can't take a joke?"  
"Oh, leave me alone!" I growled at them as they continued to laugh.  
Then we heard the Headmistress clearing her throat. "Ms Haworth. Mr Potter," she said. "Please."  
Scorpius shifted his gaze from the Headmistress back at us and jerked a thumb to point behind him. "I'll go ahead then, see you inside, Albus." And before he took off, he mouthed a 'good luck' to us.

* * *

I woke up late the next morning. There was a rapping on the carriage door. The rapping escalated to thunderous knocks on the door that I actually started to worry that some resurrected Neanderthal was out there to hunt me down for breakfast.  
Breakfast, I thought. I glanced at the time. I had twenty minutes left before breakfast was over. I jumped off my bunk and peered around. My bloody roommates had abandoned me. _Those pricks._ If only I could hex them right now. But after a reprimanding from the Headmistress last night, I had no intentions of getting into any more trouble again. One strike was enough for me.  
I hastily pulled on a fresh new shirt and pulled my hair back into a ponytail. I sniffed myself a little to ensure that I was good to go before I went up to the door and finally opened it. Albus and Scorpius were leaning against the door frame, having a conversation as Albus' hand remained held up, knocking onto the air. When he realised that the door was already open, the both of them turned to look at me.  
"Well then, Sleeping Beauty is finally awakened with a kiss from her prince," Scorpius teased, smirking as they watched me throw my arms into a cardigan.  
Albus shot him a disbelieving look. "More like the beast is finally up for another massacre," he corrected, chuckling at me. "Translation: Good morning, let's go for breakfast now before we miss it."  
I walked out of the carriage, towards the school building with the two of them. "Tell me why I'm friends with you again?"  
We reached the Beauxbatons dining hall within 2 minutes. It was already crowded and I felt bad for having Albus and Scorpius wait for me before going for breakfast. "Sorry, guys," I apologised to them, feeling so guilty for being such a burden to them.  
"Albus!" A familiar (nasal French) voice cried out. It was Adrienne. She popped out of nowhere as she wrapped her arms around Albus'. "C'mon! Il y a une table ici." She started leading him away as Scorpius and I followed behind.  
"She said, 'There is a table here', just F-Y-I." I smiled appreciatively at Scorpius before he walked ahead of me. We had been led to a table filled with other Beauxbatons kids and those from the two visiting schools. Adrienne made Albus sit next to her seat as Scorpius took what seemed to be the last seat in between two Durmstrang students. I felt my facial muscles tense a little as I awkwardly circled around the table, searching for another seat.  
But there were none left. And Adrienne and the rest were oblivious to my existence. I knew that Scorpius and Albus would have looked for me if they had 't been engaged by the now annoying and overly-friendly Adrienne.  
Swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat, I bravely turned around to find another table with a spare seat. When I spotted one, I hastened my pace towards it at the corner of the dining room. "Er, hi! Mind if I - _unf_!"  
I felt something dig into my rib bone as I was knocked down over, hitting my shoulder against the cold marble floor. A heavy weight had knocked my breath off but as soon as I groaned in agony, I felt the weight lifted off me.  
"My apologies." I opened my eyes to see one of those Durmstrang boys looking at me concernedly. He ran his fingers through his dark ebony hair before reaching a hand out to me. I grabbed it as I shot daggers at him.  
"I can assist you to get some aid," he offered. "Where do you hurt?"  
"I'm good, don't worry," I assured him. "Thanks." With a dismissive nod, I subtly limped my way back to the table I was heading for. I could still feel the Durmstrang boy's eyes on me and it made the hairs on my nape stand.  
The Beauxbatons boy sitting on my target table had seen the whole incident and was already walking up to help me but I looked up at him to politely decline. That, until I noticed his warm chocolate brown eyes and a somewhat neat, short chestnut blonde hair that was pushed up and swept a little to the side. Too observant of me, perhaps? His thick but neat dark eyebrows raised a little upon looking back at me and I flashed a small grin at him.  
Good Merlin, he was _handsome_.  
He pulled out the chair next to his for me and gestured to it. "Here, have a seat."  
What a gentleman. And he had a faint French accent too. So I sat and prepared myself for breakfast.  
"How do you feel? Do you need ice or - "  
"I'm fine, thanks," I squirmed a little as I held my rib. "Sorry, my friends left me out of their table apparently. So I had to go here," I said to change the topic as I rolled my eyes a little at the thought of Adrienne.  
"Don't worry," the boy said, shrugging, "It's nice to get to know new people, right? You must be from Hogwarts."  
"Mhmm." I nodded as I helped myself to some breakfast. "I'm Sage, by the way."  
The boy flashed a set of pearly white teeth at me as he offered his hand for a shake. "Well, pleasure to meet you," he said. "My name's Jacques. Jacques Arnault. But my friends call me Jacquot."  
I took his hand and shook it, holding shamelessly longer than appropriate. "That's because Jacquot is like the nickname for Jacques, just like how Jimmy is for James," he explained wittily. "And that's your French fact for the day!"  
I chuckled at what he said as we finally released each other's hands. "I think I'll call you Jacques - it's a nice name."  
And I smiled at him.  
Thank you, Adrienne, for keeping me out of that damned table.


End file.
